Chapter 11: Special Attention

Eleanor had long been completely disappointed in her father.

He always yelled at her or hit her, and if Claudia had even the slightest problem, he blamed Eleanor entirely.

This time, Claudia had likely complained to him.

"They instructed Theodore to ruin my painting. Ruixin Gallery is simply demanding proper compensation."

Her father shouted, "That's your husband! You're colluding with outsiders against him! Don't you know the Prescott family, who owns Ruixin Gallery, is Sebastian's main potential partner for this project? If you ruin this deal, I will never forgive you!"

Eleanor managed a bitter smile.

In all the years she was married to Sebastian, her father had never cared this much about Sebastian's business.

It was obvious that now that Claudia and Sebastian were together, he cared more about Sebastian's career than anyone else, just to ensure Claudia had a good life.

"If you don't want this deal ruined, then you pay the compensation for Sebastian."

Eleanor hung up the phone.

The phone immediately rang several times. Even Eleanor's stepmother called.

Eleanor ignored the calls, turned off her phone, and focused on painting.

In the following days, Sebastian and Claudia indeed stopped bothering her.

Eleanor was bursting with inspiration and created two paintings in a row.

Aside from the suburban villa, Eleanor's most frequent destination was Ruixin Gallery.

Whether by chance or not, she often ran into Alexander at the gallery.

The two of them talked easily and had much to discuss.

From paintings to literary interpretation, and even music, every conversation with Alexander left Eleanor feeling incredibly refreshed.

As they talked, a stern-looking middle-aged man noticed them.

"Who is that woman? She's been talking to Alexander for so long."

Mark, the manager, replied, "She's a new artist Miss Daphne is supporting. Alexander bought her painting for forty million recently. They seem to run into each other a lot these days. Alexander seems to be paying her... special attention."

The middle-aged man narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "Run a background check on that woman."

"Yes, Mr. Benjamin."

...

A week later, Eleanor's exhibition opened as planned.

Daphne had invited several renowned figures from the art world, and they all praised Eleanor's work highly.

Many senior critics in the industry gave glowing reviews of Eleanor's paintings.

Several pieces were purchased for collection, many by prominent figures.

The media also widely reported on Eleanor's exhibition.

Crucially, Alexander purchased Eleanor's new work on behalf of his corporation.

This showed tremendous support for Eleanor's exhibition.

Overnight, Eleanor's reputation soared. Countless galleries offered her contracts, even with exorbitant fees, but Eleanor politely declined every one of them and signed a long-term partnership with Daphne.

Meanwhile, Sebastian, who had been busy for days, dragged his exhausted body home late at night.

The house was completely dark. Claudia had gone to bed early.

He lay down on the sofa. There was no gentle massage from Eleanor, no wife waiting up for him.

A feeling of loneliness welled up in Sebastian's heart.

He actually started to miss Eleanor.

But the thought of Eleanor's coldness brought on a wave of irritation.

He picked up the remote and turned on the TV to distract himself.

However, the finance channel was reporting on Alexander's purchase of Eleanor's new work.

The two were standing together, giving an interview. Alexander was perfectly gentlemanly, stepping in to redirect questions when the media touched upon Eleanor's private life.

Sebastian sat up, somewhat incredulous.

A nagging thought crossed his mind.

Theodore had been confined to the house for several days because of Eleanor.

When he returned to school, Theodore took several of Sebastian's expensive watches and showed them off to his classmates. "Do you know how much this watch costs? It's more money than you'll ever earn in your life. And my family has hundreds of watches just like it!"

A classmate asked, "Really? If you have so many, Theodore, can you give me one?"

Theodore scoffed. "Sure. If you get down on your knees and bark like a dog, I'll give you one."

The classmate hesitated, then shook his head. "Never mind."

"Poor loser! Your parents couldn't buy this watch in two lifetimes. You won't even bark like a dog? You deserve to be poor your whole life."

This was a trick Claudia had taught him. If he said this, the whole class would listen to him.

The boy who was insulted started crying in frustration and ran out of the classroom.

Soon after, Mr. Brown, the teacher, led the boy back in and said sternly, "Theodore, why did you insult your classmate? You should show respect to one another. Apologize to him now."

Theodore retorted, "You think you can tell me what to do just because you're a teacher? I'll call my dad right now and have the principal fire you!"

Mr. Brown said, "Theodore, I hope you realize your mistake. If you apologize to your classmate and me now, I can forgive you."

Theodore immediately picked up the watch and threw it at Mr. Brown.

Ultimately, the matter was taken to the principal.

Sebastian, already stressed out, answered the school's call for a meeting and went to the school in a rage.

When he learned that the principal had informed all parents in the class about Theodore hitting the teacher, a vein throbbed on his forehead.

Most of the students at this school came from the upper class. This incident was bound to affect his social standing.

Thinking this, Sebastian glared at Theodore. "You've really developed some guts! First, you made me pay a huge sum of money, and now you've embarrassed me at school! It seems the punishment of being grounded last time wasn't enough!"

Mentioning that he had been grounded for days, Theodore shot back, "It's your fault for dragging your feet and not divorcing that bad woman! That's why Claudia couldn't become my mom, and that's why I listened to her and messed with that bad woman! If you had divorced her sooner, I wouldn't have gone!"

Sebastian froze.

Claudia, who had just entered, was also stunned by his words.

"What did you say?" Sebastian asked in disbelief.

"I said—"

"Teddy, how could you hit your teacher? Go apologize to your teacher and classmate right now."

Claudia quickly interrupted their conversation and rushed to hug Theodore.

Theodore pouted. "They started it! Why should I apologize?"

Despite her anger, Claudia maintained her gentle smile.

She lowered her voice. "Teddy, you'll anger your father if you keep this up. What if he gets upset and sends you to live with your mother?"

Theodore started to panic.

He didn't want to go to Eleanor's!

Reluctantly, Theodore offered a grudging apology.

However, the school suspended Theodore for three days, citing his misbehavior, and told Sebastian to take him home for proper discipline.

On the drive home, Sebastian's face was dark. Claudia was so guilty that she didn't dare speak.

As soon as they got home, Sebastian dragged Claudia into the room, gripping her wrist so hard he nearly crushed it.

"What did Theodore mean today? Did you instruct him to mess with Eleanor?!"

Claudia's tears instantly began to fall. She looked at Sebastian with an aggrieved expression. "I never instructed Theodore to do anything like that. Maybe I just mentioned to him once that Eleanor was having an exhibition, and I was worried Eleanor would speak badly about me at the show. I had no idea Theodore was so protective of me and went to cause trouble so Eleanor couldn't have her exhibition."

"Are you telling the truth?" Sebastian narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

Claudia nodded repeatedly. She slowly moved closer to Sebastian, wrapped her arms around his neck, and gently rubbed her leg against him.

Feeling Sebastian's erection, Claudia became more brazen, rubbing herself against him and letting out a soft, seductive moan. "I only want to quietly love you and be by your side. I never wanted my sister to divorce you. If my sister would just come home right now, I'd even be willing to kneel down and beg her."